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I am aware that novel techniques for building mud huts are created all the time, and none of those new techniques address the fundamental issue with all of them

I am aware that novel techniques for building mud huts are created all the time, and none of those new techniques address the fundamental issue with all of them — this building technique is only suited to single-story buildings on large tracts of land. 3D printing the mud hut doesn’t meaningfully alter that constraint. The “environmental sustainability” gains you get from using on-site materials would be totally erased by the fact that if you actually built houses like this at scale and expected people to live in them, we would have to massively increase the land area occupied by humans, which is the exact opposite direction we need to go in. Show me where this technology can knock down the cost of adding infill housing or building vertically in locations where land and construction are expensive (that is, where people actually want to live), and it’ll be worth paying attention to. Otherwise it’s just a dumb, expensive distraction.

freetime2 6y ago
I live in a rural area where the population is declining rapidly. There's plenty of land available for cheap, but actually building a house still very expensive. I think a cheaply built, single story structure on a large tract of land could work very well here, and could possibly help to sustain the local population and quality of life. I agree we should be building denser to meet demand for housing in cities. But not everyone needs to live in a city.
vanderZwan 6y ago
If I literally say "the mud huts aren't the point" and you reply by talking about "novel techniques for building mud huts", then I don't think you're honestly engaging with my argument. The technique is limited to mud huts for now. It's a demonstration of what it is capable of for now. With more research it could become more useful later on. Seeing that is not rocket science.

freetime2 6y ago

I live in a rural area where the population is declining rapidly. There's plenty of land available for cheap, but actually building a house still very expensive. I think a cheaply built, single story structure on a large tract of land could work very well here, and could possibly help to sustain the local population and quality of life. I agree we should be building denser to meet demand for housing in cities. But not everyone needs to live in a city.

vanderZwan 6y ago

If I literally say "the mud huts aren't the point" and you reply by talking about "novel techniques for building mud huts", then I don't think you're honestly engaging with my argument. The technique is limited to mud huts for now. It's a demonstration of what it is capable of for now. With more research it could become more useful later on. Seeing that is not rocket science.